At one of Germanys prestigious ceremonies, the Goldene Kamera Awards, the trophy for Best International Film was handed to an impersonator of actor Ryan Gosling on behalf of his 2016 musical film "La La Land".
According to Steven Gaetjen, the host of the event, nobody from the film's unit was unable to attend the awards, hence they decided to do so, reports variety.com.
"The directors couldn't be here today but someone else agreed to take the award. And we are very happy that he is here today, because he is the reason this movie is a huge success," Gaetjen told the audience.
"Men hold onto your wives and wives hold onto your men, here is the one and only Ryan Gosling," he added.
The impersonator is identified as Ludwig Lehner, a chef from Munich.
Upon his introduction, Lehner walked onto the stage and accepted the award, garnering a range of reactions from the audience which included Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell and Jane Fonda.
The stunt was a prank conducted by German comedians Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, who reportedly tricked the Goldene Kamera organisers into inviting the fake Gosling. In his acceptance speech, Lehner dedicated the award to Winterscheidt and Heufer-Umlauf.
After the prank was successfully carried out, the host of the show apologised to the audience.